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Athens News Agency - March 26, 1999

Simitis says political solution "only possible solution" to Kosovo

BERLIN, 26/03/1999 (ANA/P.Stangos-M. Spinthourakis-G.Zitouniati)

Prime Minister Costas Simitis said yesterday that the only possible solution to the Kosovo crisis was a political one, stressing it could not be resolved through force of arms and military intervention. Expressing grief for the victims of the NATO air strikes during a press conference on the sidelines of a European Union Summit, Mr. Simitis said the strikes had been announced in advance some days ago. If they had not been carried out, he added, it woul d have damaged the credibility of both NATO and Europe.

"We had pointed out to (Yugoslav President Slobodan) Milosevic, in fact (then foreign minister) Theodoros Pangalos had paid a special visit for precisely this reason, that if he went too far he would be faced with an impasse," Mr. Simitis said.

Mr. Simitis categorically rejected any linking of developments in Kosovo with Greek-Turkish relations, saying Athens had already delivered a demarche to Washington protesting the "erroneous" linking of the two issues by US President Bill Clinton.

President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said this week that fighting in Kosovo could spill over into neighbouring countries and eventually spark a clash between Greece and Turkey.

"Kosovo is a special case and has nothing to do with Greek-Turkish relations and if it is seen as having some connection with these relations, then this view is erroneous," Mr. Simitis said.

Addressing journalists on Wednesday evening, Mr. Simitis said he completely disagreed with President Clinton and Mr. Blair.

Mr. Simitis said he had told his EU counterparts that "he totally disagrees with the view that developments in Kosovo could provoke a conflict between Greece and Turkey". "This view can in no way be justified," Mr. Simitis underlined.

In his press conference yesterday, the premier said Greece had already undertaken a number of initiatives aimed at the peaceful settlement of the Kosovo crisis and would continue in this direction. He said Greece had also taken steps concerning the dispatch of humanitarian aid, while with respect to the possibility of Greece facing a wave of refugees, Mr. Simitis said: "We are obliged to receive the refugees but I hope they won't come."

Mr. Simitis said Foreign Minister George Papandreou had already contacted his counterparts in neighbouring countries, particularly the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), in an effort to contain any refugee wave there.

Replying to reporters' questions, Mr. Simitis said the EU statement on Wednesday expressing support for the NATO attacks on Yugoslavia, was not directed against the Serbian people with whom Greece maintains long- standing friendly relations.

He added that Greece had pointed out the need for military intervention in Yugoslavia to have the "cover" of a UN Security Council resolution, but that it was eventually decided that the previous resolution of the Security Council would suffice.

On Wednesday, Mr. Simitis has appealed for "sobriety and cool-headedness" in the Kosovo crisis .

Mr. Simitis said he had taken the initiative to raise the Kosovo crisis at the summit before discussion of the Agenda 2000 began.

"The Kosovo problem must not be treated by the EU as a theoretical problem of international law and human rights concerning a remote region. A wave of refugees may have repercussions for the region and lead to destabilisation..., " he told reporters.

Mr. Simitis reiterated that Greece was not participating in NATO military action and would do so only if all the interested parties consented, "which is not the case at the present time".

The Greek premier stressed that Greece was opposed to any change of borders in the Balkans and to "any actions which could bring about such changes".

"The protection of human rights which we seek, must be achieved by peaceful means, not military intervention," he added.

Mr. Simitis expressed the view that developments in Kosovo would not have negative repercussions for Greece "which constitutes a force for peace and stability in the region".

Gov't spokesman : Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, speaking to the press in Berlin on Wednesday evening, also dismissed the statements by President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair regarding the possibility of a Greek-Turkish clash.

"These statements do not reflect reality. The crisis in Kosovo is unfolding on a completely different level to that of Greek-Turkish relations. There is a difference with respect to substance, history as well as regional and time factors," Mr. Reppas said.

"The reiteration of albeit incorrect references to the possibility of the Kosovo crisis having repercussions for Greek-Turkish relations helps neither to resolve the former nor bring about an improvement of the latter, " the spokesman added.

Tsohatzopoulos : Speaking in Athens in the early hours of yesterday morning, National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said "the only path which can lead to a resolution of the crisis in Kosovo is peaceful dialogue and it is now imperative that those with the relevant competence take appropriate initiatives".

Despite Greece's insistence that the crisis be resolved peacefully, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said, Yugoslavia's failure to agree to decisions taken (in peace talks) at Rambouillet has resulted in the use of force against Yugoslavia. Mr. Tsohatzopoulos , who was earlier forced to cut short his London visit due to developments, said: "Now the Kosovo problem is unfolding (at the level of) the refugees and the dead. A new figure for victims has been added."

Earlier on Wednesday evening, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos continued, he had telephone conversations with his US and German counterparts, to whom he reiterated Greece's steadfast position that there could be no military solution to the Kosovo crisis.

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said he had also impressed on his US counterpart that there was no link between Greek-Turkish relations and the Kosovo problem.

"The Kosovo problem affects the neighbouring countries, it has repercussions in the region, but it cannot be linked with Greek-Turkish issues," he said.

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said Greece had taken all the necessary measures to deal with any problems of a humanitarian nature which may arise as a result of developments in Kosovo.

"This however is not the issue. The issue is that the crisis must be resolved peacefully," he said.

President of the Republic : In statements made on the occasion of Greece's national day yesterday, President Kostis Stephanopoulos expressed regret at developments in the region and stressed that a political solution for Kosovo was attainable, provided it was based on respect for the "borders and principles of states".

President Stephanopoulos said other areas also existed in which human rights should be protected with other methods and not the one in question.

Referring to statements linking the crisis in Kosovo to Greek-Turkish relations, President Stephanopoulos said he had "never thought that the bombing of Serbia would be a way of averting a conflict between Greece and Turkey".

Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis said he felt "shame", as a European citizen, over the fact that Europe had not managed "to stand up and be counted" and was "being led into adventures with the responsibility of Washington, which is using humani tarian considerations as a pretext for the intervention".

Opposition reactions : Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Costas Karamanlis stressed also that a political solution should be found to the Kosovo problem, saying "we do not believe that major international problems can be settled by the use of force".

Speaking on the island of Lesbos yesterday, where he was attending 25 March events marking the commencement in 1821 of the Greek struggle for independence against the Ottoman Turks, Mr. Karamanlis said that under no circumstances should there be any cha nge in borders in the region and spoke of double standards on the part of the international community.

"Force has been used in the case of Kosovo without the consent of the United Nations Security Council, while in the case of Cyprus, many resolutions have been adopted without the intervention of NATO being requested," Mr. Karamanlis said.

He also addressed himself to Ankara, saying Greece "wants to walk along the path of peace and stability with Turkey, on the basis of mutual respect for international treaties and conventions".

He underlined however that Greece was determined to confront any threat, irrespective of where it originated.

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement calling on Greeks "to rise up, to stand at the side of the Yugoslav people and demand that NATO withdraw from the region and stop the war".

"The Greek people and its youth must demand from the (Greek) government to withdraw from the dirty war," the statement also said.

The Coalition of the Left condemning the NATO strikes against Yugoslavia demanded an immediate cessation.

A Coalition statement said the NATO bombardment and the circumventing of the UN Security Council was a blatant violation of international law and "an act of brutal imposition".

Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI) leader Dimitris Tsovolas said his party condemned "with outrage and indignation, the unjustified and inhuman attacks by the US and NATO on Yugoslavia, which are being carried out in violation of the UN Charter, with the aim of changing the status quo in the Balkans to the benefit of the US".

Archbishop: Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece said "the problems of peoples are not resolved by weapons and the powers that, on the pretext that they are serving the principles of democracy and human rights, by intervening in Kosovo have trampled on these timeless values in the most brutal way".

Christodoulos said he fully supported the Yugoslav people and felt shame for "those who call themselves Christians yet turn against a people with the same religion".

| The NATO attacks on Yugoslavia were also condemned by Archbishop Spyridon of America, who appealed for all diplomatic efforts to be exhausted for a peaceful solution of the Kosovo crisis.

Yugoslav ambassador : Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic will not budge from the position he has so far adopted, since it concerns Yugoslavia's vital interests, Yugoslav Ambassador to Greece, Dragomir Vucicevic, told a news conference in Athens yesterday.

Mr. Vucicevic appealed for an end to the NATO attacks and for efforts to be made by the international community in support of international law.

"Each broadening of the incidents will create problems in the greater region," Mr. Vucicevic warned.

Replying to questions, Mr. Vucicevic said Greece's stance in the crisis was "appreciated" by his government, given that Athens opposed any change in borders and supported a peaceful resolution of the problem.

"We particularly appreciate that Greece refuses to take part in any way in developments and in NATO actions against Yugoslavia," he added.

He said Belgrade felt the same appreciation for two permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia and China.

Mr. Vucicevic however criticised UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "for trying to legalise the intervention against Yugoslavia".

According to the envoy, NATO's first wave of air strikes resulted in the death of five people and 30 injured, all of whom were civilians. Mr. Vucicevic charged that a Serb refugee camp near Belgrade, a 13th century monastery in Kosovo, industrial ins tallations, business premises and non- governmental buildings located in residential areas had been hit.

"These were all the targets of Clinton's aggression," the envoy said.

Mr. Vucicevic said no attacks were being or would be carried out against Albanian citizens in Kosovo, adding that any measures being taken by Belgrade concerned "Albanian terrorists". Foreign Minister George Papandreou late last night said that "the message has been sent and political consultations should now begin".

Addressing journalists in Berlin, Mr. Papandreou said that in consultations with his Bulgarian, Romanian and Turkish counterparts possible humanitarian aid to be provided is being planned.

[ Athens News Agency - www.ana.gr - March 26, 1999 ]